Major roads cleared as rescue operation continues after deadly blizzard in Pakistan's hill resort

Roads at a popular Pakistani resort were cleared on Sunday after the deaths of 22 people who were stuck in their cars during a heavy snowstorm as temperatures plummeted, officials said.

More than 4 feet (1 metre) of snow fell in the area of the Murree Hills resort in the town of Murree near the capital Islamabad on Friday night and early Saturday. The heavy snow caused hundreds of vehicles to become buried or otherwise stuck.

Most of the victims suffered hypothermia as temperatures fell to minus 8˚C. A rescue physician said some died of carbon monoxide poisoning from running their car heaters while their mufflers were choked by snow.

 Army troops take part in a rescue operation in a heavy snowfall-hit area in Murree.

Punjab police said in a statement that all roads in and around the resort had been cleared but that incoming traffic to the resort was still not allowed.

Police said some 700 vehicles were pulled from the snow and the remaining stranded tourists were taken to safety on Saturday night. Most were taken to one of five military-run relief camps and provided with medication and hot meals.

"It was not snow, and not even heavy snow, it was unprecedented... with four to five feet in few hours," Tariq Ullah, an administrative official in nearby Nathia Gali, told AFP on Sunday.

"(I) never saw such a huge snowstorm in my life. There were strong winds, uprooted trees, avalanches. People around were terrified, each having his or her own account of suffering."

Several Pakistan newspapers, however, excoriated administrators on Sunday, noting the country's weather bureau warned as early as January 6 of the approaching blizzard.

Army soldiers clear road covered with snow in Murree.

The government of Prime Minister Imran Khan came under heavy criticism for not being prepared for the situation and for acting too late, causing the heavy loss of human lives. Opposition politicians Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Mariyam Nawaz were among critics of the government's performance.

Imran acknowledged in a tweet that the administration was caught unprepared by the heavy snow and huge number of tourists traveling to the resort. Traditionally many Pakistanis, regardless of the weather forecast, flock to Murree Hills at the first report of snowfall.

Located 46 kilometres north of the capital of Islamabad, Murree is a popular winter resort town that attracts well over a million tourists annually. Streets leading into the town are often blocked by snow in winter.

 People stand next to cars stuck under fallen trees on a snowy road in Murree.

Among the dead were an Islamabad police officer and seven members of his family, a couple with two sons and two daughters from the garrison city of Rawalpindi and four friends from the northwestern city of Mardan. Their funerals took place on Sunday in their native towns.

'Going to sleep'

The Islamabad officer, Naveed Iqbal, died along with his sister, three nephews and three of his children. Local media reported that in his last telephone call to his only surviving son he said: "We are just going to turn on the heat and go to sleep.”

People and relatives gather near the coffins of a family, who were killed in freezing temperatures in Murree, in Islamabad.  Reuters

"All concerned authorities are particularly advised to remain 'ALERT' during the forecast period," the National Weather Forecasting Centre said Thursday, adding "heavy snowfall" could cause road closures in Murree and elsewhere.

Investigation promised

Authorities have promised an investigation. "Our first priority was rescue, which is ongoing, then relief," Hasaan Khawar, spokesman for the Punjab provincial government, said in a video on his Twitter page on Sunday.

"Then a high-level inquiry will be launched and if there is any kind of negligence, then action will be taken against all those involved."

Workers use heavy machinery to clear a road following a blizzard in Murree. AFP

Leading up to the weekend, Pakistan social media had been full of pictures and videos of people playing in the snow around Murree, a picturesque resort town built by the British in the 19th century as a sanatorium for its colonial troops.

Authorities warned as early as last weekend that too many vehicles were trying to enter the town, but even that failed to discourage hordes of daytrippers from the capital.

Many Pakistanis complained on social media on Sunday that Murree hoteliers and guest-house owners had compounded the problem by price gouging, prompting stranded people to spend the night in their cars rather than pay for a room.

Relatives attend a funeral in Lahore for a victim of deadly snowstorm in Murree. AFP

"Things would have been different if local people and hotels were cooperative, but the reputation and conduct of the local people of Murree are very bad in this respect," a senior government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

There were also reports, however, of locals throwing open their homes to stranded tourists and offering food and blankets to those caught in the open.